Lessons I Learned In 2017

Wow! One year ago today I wrote my first blog post. I can honestly say that this last year has been the best year of my life, and I am excited to see what the future holds. For the past 10 years I have studied and searched for the answers to my health problems, and feel that this was the year that a path was finally made clear. I want to share some of the biggest health/life lessons I learned this year. I hope they help you too!

Good Health Is A Privilege

Unfortunately your health is not a right, it is something you have to work hard for. Health is a privilege that should not be taken for granted, but should be treasured above all your possessions. The fast paced, sugar filled, instant gratification society we live in could easily keep us from experiencing true health. I am not just talking about physical health, I am also talking about mental and spiritual health. I spent 9 years chasing physical health, not realizing that my mental health was my biggest road block. Only after quitting my job, and taking a year off to study nutrition, did I find the time to dig deeper into why I needed to be fast paced all the time. That leads me to the next lesson learned…..

Success Is Relative

A lot of this comes back to our societal norms. The workaholic is praised, and the family man is overlooked. This isn’t true all of the time, but we as a society do place a lot of emphasis on money, athletics, and beauty. If you do not have any of the three, you are not considered as “successful.” It can be easy to get caught up in chasing society’s success, often mistaking it for happiness. True happiness, or JOY as it should be known, is something that runs deeper than the praise of man. It is a contentedness with what and who you have. It is an appreciation for the small things in life rather than waiting for the big things. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with working hard to bring in an income. There is nothing wrong with being pretty. There is nothing wrong with being athletic. What IS wrong, is placing all of your value in these temporary earthly treasures. Take time to sit down and ask yourself, “Where does my JOY come from?” The answer to that question could change your life. Being content and joyful goes a long way in improving your health.

Take Time To Rest

Until this year, I equated rest with laziness. If I wasn’t working, I felt guilty. If I sat down to watch a movie, I felt guilty. If I wasn’t moving at a 100% fast pace all the time, I felt like a failure. I know this is mainly due to my personality and possibly the slightest bit of ADHD, but this year I took the time to work on it. My hormones were screwed up by the stress I brought on myself. Combine that with the birth control pill, and you have a perfect storm. I slept a lot this year. When I was tired, I took a nap. When I had a slow morning, I didn’t set an alarm. I let my body work its way back to its natural sleep pattern. This isn’t something everyone has time for, but even taking a few long weekends with the goal to rest and rejuvenate could be the key to better health. I am now sleeping better than I have in 10 years, and I wake up feeling energized and happy. Resting doesn’t always mean sleeping, it also means enjoying down time with family and friends. Dan and I prioritized spending time with each other this year, and our love and respect for each other has had time to grow.

Looking forward to 2018, I am excited to keep helping people on their health journey! I already have a few projects in the works, and can’t wait to share them with you! I announced one of those projects last week. A 45 day, online nutrition program focused on helping you regain your health. You can read more about it here. I would love to help you make 2018 a happy and healthy year. <3